Wednesday, November 25, 2015

As I write this, a half-dozen men are ripping up our front yard, removing the turf and attempting to level out the damp clay-based soil.

Theoretically, someone will deliver sod and someone--these men or others--will install it before the end of the day, though it's already mid-afternoon. All of this was to be done weeks ago, but then the rains came, for days on end, and the people at Rainbow Lawn Care said the sod farm told them it was too wet to cut the sod. So the schedule would change, and we'd say okay, and then it would rain again.

One last day-lily

The complication now is cold weather. If the sod doesn't get installed today, the ground may freeze. Even if it does, we have to water it for a week or more, and with our cold nights our hoses may freeze. And you know what? It's out of my control. It will happen or it won't. The guys are working hard, it's still daylight, it might all come together. If not, it will happen another day, maybe in the spring.

And for that I am thankful! Our lawn looked sort of okay (the crew needed reassurance that indeed we did want the current stuff torn up). But the whole thing was very bumpy. It was increasingly difficult to maneuver a lawn mower around without it nosing down into a crevice or hanging itself up on a bump. And the creeping Charlie and other nasty stuff had taken over. Rather than apply a lot of weed killer, we decided to start over.

The last rose of autumn

We've lived in this house 25 years. We did a lot of yard work when we first moved in, and then gradually for another 10 or 15 years. Lately, we've been coasting. And when we looked around, we saw that trees needed to be trimmed (done), the lawn needed a makeover (underway), and we'd really like a new garage and a back porch (planning underway for both).

We see it as an investment in our own happiness, our own well-being. The fact that we're able to do this gives me a new reason to be grateful this Thanksgiving. We are fortunate indeed.

For what are you giving thanks this year?

Update 1: 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving, 30 degrees F, windy, and snowing, and the crew arrives with sod, which they install by 10. They worked well past dark last night, leaving about 7 p.m .

Update 2: I should add that having the yard done is just icing on the cake; I'm truly thankful for my family above all.

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Who are you and what have you done with the grumpy woman who used to live here?

Savor life’s little moments.
Grandkids Augie and Vi have taught me this during nine years of daycare. With both in school now, and as Pa and I grow older. our time with these beautiful children becomes more limited and even more treasured.

Word for 2016: Clearing. I am working to clear away what does not bring happiness, be that possessions, activities, habits, or people. So far I'm mostly working on possessions and bad habits.
—Nancy